In a statement, DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz said the best way for the party to accomplish its goal of putting Clinton in the White House was for her to step aside after the convention.
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Wasserman Schultz was not without her own supporters though. Irate, in fact, that the emails confirmed their long-held suspicions the party had favored Clinton all along. After the DNC received criticism for a server glitch that temporarily gave Sanders’ campaign access to Clinton voter data, DNC Deputy Communications Director Mark Paustenbach reportedly asked: “Wondering if there’s a good Bernie narrative for a story, which is that Bernie never ever had his act together, that his campaign was a mess”.
Wasserman Schultz’s term at the DNC ends next year.
Though many progressives immediately responded by saying her ouster would not be enough to undo the damage her leadership has done, Democratic National Committee Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz announced her resignation on Sunday afternoon, saying she would relinquish her post immediately following the party’s national convention which begins Monday. “While she deserves thanks for her years of service, the party now needs new leadership that will open the doors of the party and welcome in working people and young people”.
President Barack Obama says Donald Trump’s suggestion that the US might not come to the defense of North Atlantic Treaty Organisation allies is another sign of what he calls Trump’s “lack of preparedness” on foreign policy.
She made her comments at a breakfast hosted by Bloomberg News Monday in Philadelphia. “We know she will continue to serve our country as a member of Congress from Florida and she will always be our dear friend”, Obama said.
“I think she should resign, period”, Sanders said.
Wasserman Schultz’s abrupt departure was undoubtedly an effort to keep the Democrats’ gathering from devolving into the tumult that marred last week’s Republican National Convention.
Hillary Clinton’s spokesman says hacked emails in which Democratic party officials discuss how to undermine Bernie Sanders’ campaign don’t mean the nomination process was rigged.
The revelation came on the heels of Mrs. Clinton’s pick this weekend of Sen. According to CNN, party insiders hope that sacrificing Schultz, will prevent “chaos on the convention floor” from angry Sanders supporters.
Meanwhile the Clinton campaign released a statement welcoming the ousted DNC chair as an “honorary chair” of her 2016 campaign.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz: “There were children who were in harm’s way and people lost their lives”.
They shouted down pro-Clinton speakers and sent threatening messages to state party Chairwoman Roberta Lange after posting her phone number and address on social media.
“I am proud to be part of Bernie’s movement”, Silverman said as the crowd roared. Still many delegates, and Sanders himself, said they planned to fall in line, mindful of the Republican alternative.
Trump said in a Tweet Monday that reports of Russia releasing the emails because Russian President Vladimir Putin likes him is “the new joke in town”.
Republicans relished Democrats’ pre-convention tumult, just days after they bumped and bumbled through their convention, unsuccessfully trying to paper over their own division. He also suggested that Ms Clinton’s choice of running mate, Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, was a disappointment and that he would have preferred Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, a favourite of liberals.
Norman Solomon, a delegate who supports Bernie Sanders, says there is talk among Sanders’ delegates of walking out during Kaine’s acceptance speech or turning their backs as a show of protest.
Sanders endorsed Clinton two weeks ago after pressing for the party platform to include a $15-an-hour minimum wage, debt-free college and an expansion of access to health care.
First lady Michelle Obama was making her first appearance of the presidential campaign.
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But even after Wasserman Schultz’ departure, the DNC is likely to face an uphill battle as it tries to convince skeptics that it can be impartial in future elections.
